The third Summit on Financing Infrastructure Development in Africa, held from 28–30 October in Angola’s capital, convened a high-level coalition of African heads of state, ministers, institutional investors, development banks, and private sector representatives. This year’s event placed renewed emphasis on reconfiguring infrastructure strategies across the continent to meet the ambitions of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), under the banner: “Capital, Corridors, Trade: Investing in Infrastructure for the AfCFTA and Shared Prosperity.”
With the continent facing an annual infrastructure financing deficit estimated at between US$68 billion and US$108 billion, according to the African Development Bank, the summit underscored the pressing need to convert infrastructure blueprints into viable, bankable investment portfolios. Despite this financing gap, the prevailing consensus among delegates was that the capital required already exists—what remains elusive are the enabling regulatory conditions, governance clarity, and technical readiness required to de-risk and attract long-term financing.
President João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço of Angola, who also currently chairs the African Union, opened the summit with an appeal to intensify commitment to the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA), the continental strategy designed to enhance cross-border infrastructure connectivity across energy, transport, water, and ICT sectors. He highlighted PIDA’s instrumental role in the realisation of the African Union’s broader strategic agenda, Agenda 2063, calling the Luanda Summit a pivotal moment in aligning policy instruments with capital mobilisation.
In his keynote address, President Lourenço invited regional and international investors to partner with Angola on key infrastructure projects, notably the Lobito Corridor—a major transcontinental transport and logistics route linking the port of Lobito to mineral-rich zones in Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He noted that the project is expected to lower trade costs and transit times, connecting inland production zones to global markets via the Atlantic.
Stakeholders repeatedly stressed that Africa’s development must no longer be externally dictated, but rather steered through internally defined priorities, driven by domestic capital and policy ownership. H.E. Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, Chairperson of the African Union Commission, emphasised the strategic value of financing infrastructure using African resources, arguing that “external financing remains useful, but it must not be the driving force of our development.” This sentiment was echoed throughout the summit with a call for a paradigm shift—from “a logic of assistance to a logic of alliance.”
Nardos Bekele-Thomas, CEO of AUDA-NEPAD, reiterated the importance of redefining the role of African capital, asserting that “African capital must serve African connectivity, African energy security and African productive capacity.” The call to leverage sovereign wealth funds, pension assets, and insurance holdings resonated strongly, as figures presented indicated that over US$4 trillion in domestic African savings remains largely invested abroad rather than in critical domestic development initiatives.
The need to reform regulatory frameworks that inhibit domestic capital from being channelled into infrastructure was also highlighted. Samaila Zubairu, CEO of the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), stressed that regulatory rigidity often deters African institutional investors from allocating capital to long-term infrastructure investments. He noted, “Africa does not lack capital. What we need is alignment, reform, and resolve.”
Another emerging consensus was the necessity for infrastructure planning to integrate local content and catalyse industrial development. Lerato Dorothy Mataboge, Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy at the African Union Commission, articulated a two-pronged approach: prioritising African skills, finance, and innovation, and ensuring projects stimulate industrialisation through value chain upgrading. Her remarks foregrounded the imperative of shifting away from raw mineral exports to regional processing and manufacturing hubs.
Mr. Zubairu expanded on this notion, contending that the future of African industrial growth lies in the continent’s ability to move up the critical minerals value chain. “The path forward is not more aid or charity from abroad,” he said, “but industrial transformation. If we do not add value to African resources, we remain price takers in global markets.”
The summit also offered a moment of introspection on existing multilateral structures and partnerships, with stakeholders urging for recalibration. While external financing partners and development institutions continue to play essential roles, the emphasis of the summit rested squarely on building internal resilience, policy cohesion, and continental self-determination.
Far from signalling a rejection of global partnership, the tone of the Luanda Summit was one of equity and agency: a vision for Africa to negotiate from a position of strength, underpinned by its own resources, knowledge, and institutional coherence. In rethinking infrastructure investment as a strategic lever for economic sovereignty, the summit drew a clear line—Africa’s future lies in African hands, shaped not by dependence but by deliberate continental leadership.
As Africa edges closer to realising the full potential of the AfCFTA, summits such as Luanda’s reinforce the interdependence of connectivity, capital, and coordination. By focusing on how infrastructure can support shared prosperity, rather than isolated national gains, the continent continues to redefine its development narrative—on its own terms, and with its own tools.
